Self-developer camera



Dec. 16, 1969 R. SCHMIDT ET AL 3,483,809

SELF-DEVELOPER CAMERA Filed Feb 21, 1967 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 F761 2 HQ 24 INVENTORS ROLF SCHMIDT, KARL W/LHELM SCHPANZ.

Dec. 16. 1969 R. SCHMIDT ET AL 3,483,809

SELF-DEVELOPER CAMERA Filed Feb. 21. 1967 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTORS I POLF SCHM/DT, KARL W/LHELM SCHRANZ.

United States Patent 3,483,809 SELF-DEVELOPER CAMERA Rolf Schmidt, Cologne-tammheim, and Karl-Wilhelm Sclrranz, Upladen, Germany, assignors to Agfa- Gevaert Alrtiengesellscllaft, Leverkusen, Germany, a corporation of Germany Filed Feb. 21, 1967, Ser. No. 617,526 Claims priority, appligatisoln Germany, Mar. 4, 1966,

Int. Cl. Gtl3h 17/50; G03d 3/00 US. Cl. 95--lt3 4 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE This invention relates to a device for applying processing liquid onto an exposed photographic material in self-developer cameras using the so-called image transfer process.

Under the term self-developer camera is to be understood a photographic apparatus in which a light-sensitive sheet is exposed and is processed in conjunction with a record transfer sheet by a processing liquid spread in a layer between said sheets, so that a positive silver image is formed on the transfer sheet according to the principle of the silver salt diffusion process, which image can be taken from the camera and viewed immediately.

The photographic materials required for such processes usually include a container which holds the processing liquid. Since separate containers are. necessary for each image, comparatively large units are consequently needed, the production of which is thus very expensive.

Processing liquid containers which may be used for a relatively large number of pictures and which are constructed in the form of forcing bellows or cylinders which are' emptied by pistons, always require. replenishment.

The necessary quantity of processing liquid is usually obtained when using such a form of cylinder, by winding the cylinder by hand, so that the liquid is brought to the applicator member. It is only thereafter that the exposed and thus treated sheet is drawn through the pressure rollers. With both embodiments it is necessary to clean the device aftter use. The cleaning problem is even greater when the liquid is applied by rollers or slit-type casting devices.

It is among the objects of the present invention to provide a simple arrangement whereby a mechanical device for applying processing liquid is fixedly installed and remains in the camera but whereby the container for processing liquid, sufficient for one roll of film, can be thrown away after it has been emptied. The measurement of the amount of processing liquid supplied to each picture is to be coupled with the film winding mechanism, so that no soiling can occur.

The invention accordingly comprises the apparatus possessing the construction, combination of elements and arrangements of parts which are exemplified in the following detailed disclosure. The essential feature of the arrangement according to the invention is a particular cassette for the photographic material, advantageously for the transfer material. This cassette is characterized in comprising a container for the processing liquid arranged externally on the cassette wall, this container partially covering a part or the whole of the circumference of the cassette. The container is provided with a slot which is preferably of the same width as the photographic material, from which slot the processing liquid can emerge and be applied to the photographic material.

According to a preferred constructional form, the compressibly container for the processing liquid is made of a flexible material. The said container can be compressed by means of a squeezing member arranged in the camera which is able to move wholly or partly around the cassette circumference and thereby expedite the flow of processing liquid from the container, preferably at the same rate as that at which the photographic material is taken from the cassette.

For a fuller understanding of the. nature and objects of the present invention, reference is made to the following detailed description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIGURE 1 and FIGURE 1A show a longitudinal and a transverse cross-section, respectively through a film cassette provided with the container for the processing liquid of the present invention.

FIGURE 2 and FIGURE 2A are an enlarged views of the. sections shown in FIGURE 1 and FIGURE 1A showing in addition the arrangement for closing the slot-like outlet of the container and the arrangement for controlling the flow of the processing liquid by means of the movement of the photographic materials.

FIGURE 3 is an elevational view of one form of camera embodying the present invention.

Reference is now made to FIGURE 1 of the drawings in which is shown a cassette comprising the casing 1 which is provided with a sealing cap 2. The cassette comprises the photographic film 3 which is spooled inside the cassette provided with means for fixedly mounting 4 the casette inside a camera. A compressible liquid container 5, preferably made of an easily weldable plastic surround part of the circumference of the cassette, the said container having preferably a thick outer surface 6 and compressible thin side walls, which may serve simultaneously on the casing 1 as welding connections. The liquid container which contains the processing liquid 7 is provided with a closure lip 8, and an elongated tongue 9, which tongue, in conjunction with the closure lip 8, simultaneously forms a slot for controlling the flow of liquid and a member for closing the liquid container. The cassette is provided with a bearing surface 10 to facilitate adjustment when it is inserted in the camera.

FIGURE 2 shows the cassette provided with the loaded photographic film 3 and inserted into a holder 11 and adjusted by the bearing surface 10. The squeezing roll 12 is movably mounted on the shaft in the arm 13 of a toothed segment 14 of the camera. The said squeezing roller 12 moves around the circumference of the cassette, thereby compressing the liquid container. A pressure roller 16 which is rotatably mounted in the side wall 17 of the camera is provided with gear wheel 18, which drives by means of the double gear wheels 19, 20 the toothed segment 14. Movably arranged on a fixedly mounted guide roller 21 is a bell crank 22, a closure roller 23 and pressure roller 24 being rotatably mounted on the ends of the arms of the crank. A return spring 25 mounted on the shaft of the guide roller 21, forces the. closure roller 23 by means of its sprung arm against the cassette tongue 9, thereby closing the slot of the liquid container.

An arrangement of such a cassette in a camera having a lens 26 and foldable bellows 27 is shown in FIGURE 3.

A light-sensitive photographic sheet 28 is advantageously wound onto a spool, which is rotatably mounted in the cassette 29. The said photographic sheet first passes the exposure chamber 30 by means of the rollers 31 and 32 over the closing roller 23 and through the pair of pressure rollers 16 and 24 to the exit passage 33. Between the pressure rollers the exposed sheet is brought into contact with the transfer sheet 3, provided in known manner with a frame, this transfer sheet coming from the cassette 1 over the guide roller 21, past the cassette tongue 9 and through the pair of pressure roller 16 and 24 to the exit passage 33. If the light-sensitive sheet is not processed, the arrangement according to the invention is in the closed position. The closing roller 23 presses under the spring action of the return spring 25 on the outlet of the processing liquid container and closes the latter to provide an air-tight seal. The thin cassette tongue 9 is bent slightly downwards and presses the transfer sheet 3 onto the guide roller 21 and at the same time blocks the feeding of transfer sheet.

In practice, the sheets which are to be photographically processed are gripped manually and drawn from the exit passage 33. For this purpose, a tensional force must be applied to overcome the bias of the return spring 25. The arrangement of the closing roller 23 and the pressure roller 24 on the bell-crank lever 22 only permits the liquid container, to open to the extent necessary for the measurement of the processing liquid, through the gap formed. Since the pressure roller 24 is thereby pressed against the pressure roller 16, the extent to which the measuring gap isopened depends only on the distance between the pressure rollers 16 and 24 present in the closed position. The light-sensitive sheet 28 which already has a tension applied by the cassette 29 itself, is in this way, prevented from being easily drawn out, since the closing roller 23 bears against the roller 32 on opening and so forms a braking loop.

If the gripped sheets are drawn out of the exit passage 33 so that the pressure rollers 16 and 24 are set in motion, the gear-wheel 18, fixedly mounted on the shaft of the pressure roller 16 causes a transmission of movement to the double gear wheel 19, 20 and from the driven gear wheel 20 to the toothed segment 14. The feeding movement which the squeezing roller 12 mounted in the arm 13 must carry out for the accurate measurement of the processing liquid 7, per unit surface, is determined by the accurately established transmission between the pressure roller 16 and toothed segment 14. The squeezing roller 12 running around the cassette wall thus forces the processing liquid 7, which is preferably of fairly high viscosity, which is disposed in the liquid container towards the measuring gap. The processing liquid leaving the measuring gap is applied by the closure lip 8 onto that inner portion of the transfer sheet 3 which is not covered by the frame. The closure lip 8 which is a lengthwise extension of the outer wall of the liquid container 5 has the breadth of the portion of the transfer sheet 3 which is not covered by the frame. After the processing liquid 7 has been applied, the sheets are I brought into contact between the pressure rollers 16 and 24. The rollers 16 and 24 which are used as pressure members must be provided with lateral limiting stops and lateral bearing surfaces in order to provide an accurately determined gap between the rollers. The size of the gap required is determined by the thickness of the two photographic sheets and the thickness of the layer of the processing liquid required.

The light-sensitive photographic sheet may comprise a support and a silver halide gelatin emulsion layer. The processing liquid includes a silver halide developer and a silver halide solvent. The transfer sheet comprises a layer containing developing nuclei for the transferred silver halide. A positive print is formed in that layer of the transfer sheet by the silver halide diffusion process.

We claim:

1. Photographic cassette comprising in combination a casing for location of a rolled photographic material,

4 the said casing being provided with a sealing cap, means for fixing the cassette inside a camera, a compressible container for the photographic processing liquid, the said container being arranged externally on the casing at least partially covering the circumference of the casing, the casing forming the inner wall of the container, the said casing being provided with a slot-like outlet the upper part of the slot-like outlet being an extension of the outer wall of the container and the lower part being an extension of the wall of the casing.

2. Photographic cassette as defined in claim 1, the wall of the casing of which is provided with a bearing surface.

3. In a camera for exposing and processing a lightsensitive photographic film in combination with another sheet-like transfer material which is advanced to super position with said exposed light-sensitive photographic material, both materials are treated with a processing liquid which is located between said exposed light-sensitive material and said transfer-sheet material when both materials are brought into contact, said camera comprising in combination, means for exposing the lightsensitive photographic material; means for bringing the exposed layer of the light-sensitive photographic material and the transfer sheet into contact; means for spreading the processing liquid between both materials and a pair of pressure rollers for applying compression to the contacted materials; means for releasable holding a supply of a light-sensitive photographic material and means for holding a supply of said transfer material, a container supplying the processing liquid and an exit passage for taking the processed materials out of the camera; the improvement according to which the supply for the transfer material comprises a cassette, the said cassette including in combination a casing for location of the rolled transfer material, the said casing being provided with a sealing cap; means for fixing the cassette inside the camera, a compressible container for the photographic processing liquid, the said container being arranged externally on the casing at least partially covering the circumference of the casing, the casing forming the inner Wall of the container, the said casing being providedwith a slot-like outlet, the upper part of the slot-like outlet being an extension of the outer wall of the container and the lower part being an extension of the wall of the casing, the camera including means for compressing the said compressible liquid container.

4. A camera as defined in claim 3, wherein the means for compressing the said container of the processing liquid includes in combination a squeezing roller rotatably mounted in the arm of a toothed segment, the said toothed segment being driven by the gear wheel of one of the pressure roller, and a further pair of rollers consisting of a guide roller which is fixedly mounted and on the shaft of which is movably mounted a bell crank, at the end of the one arm of the said crank is rotatably mounted a closure roller, at the end of the other arm of the crank is rotatably mounted the other pressure roller, on the shaft of the said guide roller is further mounted a return spring, which forces by means of its sprung arm the closure roller against the upper part of the slot-like outlet of the container.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,200,726 8/1965 Land -13 NORTON ANSHER, Primary Examiner RICHARD L. MOSES, Assistant Examiner U.S. Cl. X.R. 9589 

